Hollywood Aims to Cut Costs Amid Inflation, Supply Chain Pain

►"Do we need the set, which costs $500,000?" The entertainment industry is buckling under the weight of inflation exacerbated by persisting supply chain turmoil, physical production executives and studio operators tell THR's Winston Cho. Amid a record year for production levels after bouncing back from the pandemic, studios are grappling over how to build sets within budget and on time. The story.

—"I have ZERO INTEREST in anyone’s judgments." Alec Baldwin is set to interview scandal-plagued filmmaker Woody Allen. Baldwin made the announcement on his Instagram. In a caption to his post, the actor anticipated the criticism he will face and alluded to the interviewing being a counter to the HBO docuseries Allen v. Farrow which explores an allegation of sexual abuse made against Allen in 1992 by his adopted daughter Dylan Farrow. The story. 

—"No justice, no peace." Jodie Sweetin is “OK” after video emerged this weekend showing the Full House star being pushed by police and falling to the ground during a protest against the Supreme Court's Roe decision in Los Angeles. In the video, posted to social media by freelance photojournalist Mike Ade, Sweetin is shown close to a group of police officers. One of them appears to push her and she then appears to trip and fall onto the street. The story. 

—Forensic look. A docuseries about Kevin Spacey is in development for British network Channel 4. With a working title of Spacey Unmasked, the two-part series comes from Roast Beef Production and All3Media. The doc looks at Spacey's rise and spectacular fall after accusations from multiple men of grooming, sexual harassment and abuse. Kira Phillips will direct, with Kathy Haywood producing and Dorothy Byrne and Mike Lerner exec producing. The story. 

—"It is hard to stomach some of the gleeful responses right now." Not surprisingly, Last Week Tonight host John Oliver wasted no time addressing the topic that has been at the forefront of the news cycle since Friday: the Supreme Court’s reversal of Roe v. Wade. On Sunday’s edition of his HBO show, Oliver said the move is “absolutely horrifying” given that about half of the 50 U.S. states are likely to ban abortion. The recap.

Box Office: 'Elvis' In Tie With 'Top Gun 2' for Top Spot

►The King v. The Maverick. In a rare box office dance-off, Baz Luhrmann’s biopic Elvis and Top Gun: Maverick tied for the weekend crown with an estimated $30.5m each. The winner won’t be declared until later this morning when final grosses are tallied. 

THR's Pamela McClintock writes that Elvis has older moviegoers to thank for opening ahead of expectations: 56 percent of the audience so far is over the age of 35, including a whopping 29 percent over 55. Luhrmann’s frenetic Elvis Presley biopic skewed female (57 percent) and, not surprisingly, played best in the South. 

Top Gun 2 is doing formidable business in its fifth weekend as it jumps the $1b mark globally. The movie fell a scant 32 percent domestically thanks to being rereleased in select Imax and other premium large-format screens. The box office report.

—Still packing them in. Jurassic World Dominion crossed the $100m mark in China on Thursday, becoming the first Hollywood film to hit that milestone since Godzilla Vs. Kong did so in early 2021. The dinosaur sequel made $12.5m in its third frame but was pushed into second place over the weekend by Chinese drama Lighting Up the Stars which debuted with $31.8m. Altogether, Dominion has earned $114.6m of its $746.7m global total in China. The China box office report.

—Achievement unlocked. Top Gun: Maverick has joined the billion-dollar club at the global box office. It’s the first Tom Cruise film to achieve the milestone, and the 50th Hollywood movie overall, not adjusted for inflation. The film passed the barrier after finishing Sunday with an estimated domestic total of $521.7m and $484.7m overseas for a global cume just north of $1b. The story. 

BET Awards 2022

►"Fuck you, Supreme Court." The stars at the BET Awards wasted no time in criticizing the Supreme Court after its decision Friday to overturn Roe v. Wade. Janelle Monáe, the first presenter of the night, put up a middle finger and said, “Fuck you, Supreme Court,” from the stage during the live ceremony that took place Sunday at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles. The expletive was bleeped during the telecast, but her middle-finger gesture was shown. The story.

—Worthy winners. Jazmine Sullivan, Mary J. Blige, Marsai Martin were among the winners at the 2022 BET Awards. The Weeknd (who was not present) as best male R&B/pop artist and Zendaya (also not present) won best actress for her work in both Euphoria and Spider-Man: No Way Home. Several awards were not presented on the air, including Will Smith named best actor for King Richard, which also was named best movie. Megan Thee Stallion and Kendrick Lamar were named best female and male hip-hop artist. The full list of winners.

—"Back then, it was so many rules to hip-hop, and he broke all of them." Diddy reflected on his storied career while accepting the lifetime achievement award at Sunday’s BET Awards ceremony. The segment began with a star-studded medley of hits on which the rap super producer and mogul is credited. It also featured poignant footage of Kim Porter, Diddy’s former partner who died in 2018. Kanye “Ye” West, wearing a mask that covered his entire face, also gave a speech. The story. 

Tom Brady Says More Hollywood Projects Are in His Future 

►"I got to bring a few of my teammates on set with me." THR's nicest man Chris Gardner charmed and disarmed Tom Brady over Zoom to talk about his feature film producing debut, the comedy 80 for Brady. Brady also talked about his new Hertz campaign, how his feature film came together and working with wife Gisele Bundchen to promote his underwear line. The interview.

—Not ideal. Donald Trump’s nascent media and technology company may need to start looking for other financing options, as federal investigations into its merger partner threaten to delay or kill the deal. This morning, Digital World Acquisition Corp., the SPAC that had agreed to merge with Trump Media & Technology Group, disclosed that on June 16 and June 24 it had received grand jury subpoenas. The story. 

—A gold medal for Ninja Warrior skills? Japanese TV network TBS, creator of the original Ninja Warrior reality competition format, revealed Monday that the show’s signature obstacle course will be tested for possible inclusion in the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games. The story. 

—Yay for us! THR won 10 awards at the 64th Southern California Journalism Awards on Saturday night, including print journalist of the year for Seth Abramovitch and best columnist for Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. The story. 

In other news...

—A TV season full of infamous, real-life characters

—Abbott Elementary, Pachinko, Women of the Movement and Maid among Humanitas Prizes Nominees

—Skies of Lebanon, starring Alba Rohrwacher, finds U.S. home at Dekanalog

—Hollywood flashback: Natasha Lyonne made her TV debut on Pee-wee’s Playhouse

—Johnny Cash’s former home, listed for $1.8m, includes original turntable

What else we're reading...

—Zack Beauchamp asks what happens when the public loses faith in the Supreme Court? [Vox]

—Dan Gallagher on the speed of Netflix's pivot to include ads, as it seeks to stave off inflation and market saturation in the race for subs [WSJ]

—Lucas Shaw writes that Pink Floyd is seeking a whopping $500m for its music catalog [Bloomberg]

—Justin Curto interviews Robin S. who is riding the wave of Beyoncé’s new single "Break My Soul" [Vulture]

—Incredible photo story of how AFP photographer Oli Scarff used an underwater robot camera to capture the dramatic rescue of swimmer Anita Alvarez by her coach at the World Aquatic Championships [AFP]

Today...  

...in 2008, Pixar unveiled Andrew Stanton's WALL-E, a sci-fi adventure that would become a summer hit with critics and audiences. Scoring $521m at the global box office, the film won the Oscar for best animated feature and was nominated for best original screenplay, best original score, best original song, sound editing, and sound mixing at the 81st Academy Awards. The original review.

Today's birthdays: Tobey Maguire (47), J.J. Abrams (56), Wagner Moura (46), Tony Chiu-Wai Leung (60), Sam Claflin (36), Isabelle Adjani (67), Shannon Purser (25), Courtney Ford (44), Kimiko Glenn (33), Christian Kane (50), Madylin Sweeten (31), Julia Duffy (71), India de Beaufort (35), Chandler Riggs (23), Alanna Masterson (34), Jeremy Swift (62), Khloé Kardashian (28), Drake Bell (36), Meera Syal (61), Janusz Kaminski (63)